howanalyzecase.docx

howanalyzecase.docx

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howanalyzecase

HowtoAnalyzeaCase

AnIntroductiontotheCaseMethod

Formanyofyou,thiswillbethefirstcourseusingcasesthatyouhaveevertaken.Thefactthatthisformoflearningisnewtoyouwillnaturallycauseyousomeconcern,andearlyon,somedifficulty.Yourtextbookhastwelvechaptersthatpresentaspectsofthestrategicmarketingplanningprocess,andalargenumberof“stories”aboutcompaniescalledcases.Thesecasesgiveyouthechancetolookatthepresentsituationfacinganorganization,andafterasystematicanalysis,makerecommendationsthatwillproduceachangeintheresultsoroutcomes.Whileyoucannotbecertainwhatthatoutcomewillbe,throughthediscussionandcritiqueofyoursuggestionsbyfellowstudentsandyourprofessor,projectionscanbemadeaboutthefoundationfortheprobablesuccessofyourrecommendations.

Inthiscourseyouwillhavetheopportunity,throughcases,toseehowwellyoucanassessandaddressabusinessissueorproblem.Theroleofthecasecourseistoprovideyouwiththeopportunitytoutilizetheknowledgeyouhavegainedtothispointtoevaluateandmakerecommendationstoenhancetheperformanceofrealorganizations.Thisisnotasubstituteforrealworldexperienceinajobwithanorganization,butitisthetypeoflearningthathelpsprepareyoutobeginusingthebusinessknowledgeyouhaveacquired.

AnalysisFrameworks

Becausetheprocessoflearningthroughcaseanalysismaybenewtoyou,wewilldevotemuchofthisdiscussiontoprovidingyouwithaframeworktouseinanalyzingthecasesfoundinyourtextbook.Suchaframeworkisusefulnotonlyinanalyzingcasesintextbooks,butalsoinconsideringbusinesssituationsdescribedinpublicationssuchasTheWallStreetJournal,BusinessWeek,Fortune,andForbes.Inreality,mostarticlesaboutcompaniesinmagazinesandnewspapersaremini-cases.Thecasesinyourtexttellstories,includingfacts,opinions,projections,results,expectations,plans,policies,andprograms.Asreaders,weneedsomewaytostructuretheinformationpresentedinawaythatmakesitmoreuseable.Analysisframeworksprovideameanstoaccomplishthisend.

Thereareseveralbenefitsinhavingaframeworktouseforanalyzingsituations.Thefirstisthataframeworkprovidescomprehensivecoverageofthetopicsandissuesinvolved.Withoutaframework,theanalystmayoverlooksomeissues.Forexample,apersonmightnotconsiderthevariouseffectsoftheeconomicenvironmentfacingtheorganizationatagivenpointintime.Recommendationsmadewithoutthisconsiderationmaynotbeappropriate,andtheymayevenleadtothefailureoftheorganization.Anotherbenefitofaframeworkiseaseofcommunication.Wheneveryoneusesasimilarframeworktoanalyzecases,thetermseachpersonusespersonhavesimilarmeanings.Thisisahugeadvantageindiscussingcasesinandoutsideofclass.Afinalbenefitisconsistencyofanalysis.Aframeworkprovidesablueprinttoapproachsituationsconsistentlyeverytime.Thisisagreataidingettingstartedandconductingtheanalysiseffectivelyandefficiently.Usingtheframeworkrepeatedlywillmakeyouveryproficientwithit.Infact,experienceshowsthatstudentscontinuetousethisframeworkintheirjobslongaftergraduation.Theycontinuetogetthesebenefits,andintimesofcrisis,theframeworkgivesthemsomethingtorelyonindealingwithdifficultsituations.

Theframeworkpresentedintheremainderofthisdiscussioniscertainlynottheonlyonethatisusefulinanalyzingcases.Wealsocannotclaimthatitisthebestframework.Yourprofessormayprovidehisorherownframework,andifso,youshouldfollowit.Inallprobability,itwillbesomemodificationoftheoneoutlinedhere.Aslongastheframeworkprovidesyouwiththebenefitsoutlinedabove,youfeelitsuitsyourneeds,andyouuseitconsistently,thecaseanalysisprocesswillbemademoremanageableandvaluable.

TheSeven-StepCaseAnalysisFramework

Theseven-stepframeworkpresentedhereisasynthesisoftheframeworksusedbyyourbook’sauthorsintheirmanyyearsofcombinedexperienceinteachingmarketing.Ithasbeenimprovedovertheyearsthroughdiscussionswithothermarketingprofessorswhousecaseanalysisintheircourses.Itisstraightforwardtouse,andprovidesthebenefitsofcomprehensiveness,communication,andconsistency.Itwillnot,however,serveasasubstituteforcarefullyreading（usuallythreeormoretimes）andconsideringthecases.Itwillprovideasolidstructuretoorganizethediverseinformationpresentedinacase.

Asyouworkyourwaythroughthisframework,orasimilarapproachtocaseanalysis,weofferthefollowinghintstoincreaseyourprobabilityofsuccess:

1.Noonecananalyzeacaseafterreadingitonlyonetime,orevenworse,doingtheanalysisduringthefirstreadingofthecase.Youshouldreadthroughthecaseoncejusttogetanunderstandingofthenatureofthecase.Duringthesecondreading,youcanbegintostructureandclassifytheissuesastheyappear.Atrulycomprehensivecaseanalysiswillprobablyrequireatleastthreereadings.

2.Don’tgettrappedintothinkingthe“answer”tothecaseishiddensomewhereinthecasetext.Thereisneverasingleanswertoacasejustasthereisneverasinglemarketingstrategythatisappropriateforallsituations.Eachcaseisunique.Lookingfortricksorshortcutsisnotappropriate.

3.Makeanefforttoputyourselfintheshoesofthedecisionmakerinthecase.Theuseofrole-playingaspartoftheanalysiscanbeveryuseful.Ithelpsyougainsomefeelingfortheperspectiveofthekeypartiesatthetimethecasetookplace.Afteryouhavedoneseveralanalyses,youwilllikelycomeupwithyourownadditionalproceduresorguidelinesthatassistyouwiththisprocess.

Step1:

SituationAnalysis

Thematerialpresentedinacaseismuchlikethecommunicationswehaveinourdailylives.Usuallyourconversationsinvolvetheselectionofatopicandthenthediscussionofthattopic,andsoitiswithcases.Theproblemisthatweendupwithbitsandpiecesofinformationthatbythemselvesarenotveryuseful,butonceorganized,canbequitevaluableinourassessmentofthesituation.Thefirststepintheframeworkhelpsyouorganizethepiecesofinformationintomoreusefultopicblocks.

TheprocessofassessingasituationiswidelyaccomplishedthroughtheuseofSWOTAnalysis（strengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats）.TheissuesandproceduresinvolvedinSWOTAnalysisarefullyexploredinChapter4ofyourtext.OurrolehereissimplytoreinforcetheissuescoveredinSWOTandtoemphasizeitsroleinthecaseanalysisframework.

Lookingatanorganization’sstrengthsandweaknessesisthefirsthalfofStep1.Thisinvolveslookingattheorganization’sinternalenvironment.Strengthsarethoseaspectsoftheinternalenvironmentthatcanhelpthefirmaddressapresentproblem,issue,oropportunity,whileweaknessesarenegativefactorsordeficienciesthatdonotallowthefirmtoreachitsfullpotential.Onetopicthatshouldbeaddressedisthecontentandappropriatenessofthecurrentmarketingplan.Isthemarketingplancurrent?

Dothekeypartiesunderstandandutilizeit?

Wasitdevelopedwithinputfromalllevelsoftheorganization?

Theorganization’sfinancialconditionmayalsopresentstrengthsandweaknesses.Isitinasolidposition,anddoesithave,orcanitacquire,neededfundsatareasonablecostofcapital?

Otherpossiblestrengthsandweaknessesmightincludemanagerialexpertise,humanresources,productreputationandcustomerloyalty,patentsandtrademarks,ageandcapacityofproductionfacilities,channelrelationships,andpromotionalprograms（salesforce,advertisingprogram,publicity,andsalespromotionefforts）.Theseareallissuesthatwewanttoconsiderintermsofboththepresentstateofthefirmandidentifiabletrends.

Studentsassessingacasesituationseetheimportanceofconsideringtheorganization’sinternalenvironmentfairlynaturally.TheaspectofSWOTanalysisthatgivesstudentsthemostdifficultyistheexternalenvironmentwhereallopportunitiesandthreatsreside.Theseareissuesthatexistoutsidetheboundariesofthefirm.Allopportunitiesandthreatswillexistattheirpresentlevelseveniftheorganizationinquestiondoesnotexist.Technology,competition,themacroeconomicenvironment,regulation,andsocialandculturaltrendsareallissuesthataffectthesuccessofanorganization’sstrategies,buttheorganizationhasonlylimitedinfluenceonthem.

Becausethepowertoaffecttheexternalenvironmentsignificantlyisusuallyabsent,managementmustviewthefactorsandforcespresentintheexternalenvironmentasissuestobeconsidered,butnotusuallycontrolled.Managersshouldtakestepstominimizetheexposuretothreatsandtotakefulladvantageoftheopportunities.Youmightthinkofopportunitiesandthreatsascurrentsinariver.Itismucheasiertofindariverwhosecurrentswillhelptakeyouwhereyouaregoingthantotrytomakeheadwaygoingagainsttheforceoftheriver.

YoumaygethunguponseveralpointswhenconductingaSWOTanalysis.First,whileafactorwillusuallyfallintoonlyoneofthefourcategories,thisisnotalwaysthecase.Afactorcanbebothastrengthandaweakness,oranopportunityandathreat.Forexample,excesscapacityinafactorywouldbeaweaknessfromaproductionefficiencystandpoint.But,itcouldbeastrengthifthefirmislookingtointroduceanewproductbecauseitwillnothavetobuildanewfactory.

Thesecondandmoreseriousissueisthedifficultyinidentifyingopportunities.Thereisatendencyt